Liquid amine-type developer for diazotype materials

ABSTRACT

A DEVELOPER LIQUID CONTAINING AS THE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AT LEAST 20% BY WEIGHT OF MORPHOLINE, PIPERIDINE, LOWER ALKYL MORPHOLINE, LOWER ALKYL PIPERIDINE, OR AN ORGANIC AMINE OF THE FORMULA:   RR&#39;&#39;N-CNH2N-O-X   WHEREIN R, R&#39;&#39; AND X ARE HYDROGEN, LOWER ALKYL OR LOWER HYDROXY ALKYL AND N IS AN INTEGER FROM 2 TO 4, INCLUSIVE, AND CONTAINING A DILUENT WHICH MAY BE A POLYHYDRIC ALCOHOL, A GLYCOL ETHER OR A MONOFUNCTIONAL ALCOHOL AND A THIRD COMPONENT WHICH IS A CARBOXYLIC FATTY ACID HAVING A CARBON CHAIN LENGTH OF FROM 16 TO 18 CARBON ATOMS SUCH AS OLEIC, LINOLEIC, LINOLENIC, STEARIC OR PALMITIC AND IS PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT RANGING FROM 1% TO 20% BY WEIGHT.

"United States Patent Oflice Patented May 7, 1974 3,809,559 LIQUID AMINE-TYPE DEVELOPER FOR DIAZOTYPE MATERIALS Henry J. Neuman, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation, Mount Prospect, Ill. No Drawing. Continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 128,541, Mar. 26, 1971. This application June 8, 1973, Ser. No. 368,169

Int. Cl. G03c 5/34 US. CI. 96-49 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A developer liquid containing as the active ingredients at least by weight of morpholine, piperidine, lower alkyl morpholine, lower alkyl piperidine, or an organic amine of the formula:

wherein R, R and X are hydrogen, lower alkyl or lower hydroxy alkyl and n is an integer from 2 to 4, inclusive, and containing a diluent which may be a polyhydric alcohol, a glycol ether or a m'onofunctional alcohol and a third component which is a carboxylic fatty acid having a carbon chain length of from 16 to 18 carbon atoms such as oleic, linoleic, linolenic, stearic or palmitic and is present in an amount ranging from 1% to 20% by weight.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 128,541 filed Mar. 26, 1971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to liquid developers for developing two-component diazotype materials in which the active ingredient is an organic amine and more particularly developer liquid compositions which can be used under conditions where small amounts of the liquid are spread over the latent image bearing surface of a two-component diazotype material.

Diazotype reproduction processes in which a two-component diazotype material is developed by applying a small amount of a developer liquid, usually not exceeding three grams per square meter of the latent image bearing surface are described in US. Pat. 3,446,620, issued to Konrad Parker on May 27, 1969, and assigned to the same assignee as the instant invention. This known technique which produces a dry copy directly from a liquid developing step is accomplished by supplying controlled amounts of the concentrated developer solution, comprising an aliphatic amine, to a two-component diazotype material. The technique calls for providing a developing region through which is passed the exposed diazotype paper where the controlled small amount of liquid is applied directly to the latent diam image bearing surface to effectively develop the azo-dye image and the prints emerge dry, odor-free and ready for use.

The controlled amounts of liquid refer to the application of quantities not in excess of three grams of developer per square meter of the image bearing surface and preferably in the range of from about 0.5 gram to 2 grams per square meter.

The method which is described in 3,446,620, may be carried out by a number of different types of apparatus specifically designed to apply the controlled amounts. One such apparatus is described in US. application Ser. No. 831,685, now US. Pat. 3,626,833, assigned to the same assignee as the instant invention. It will be appreciated that in the construction of such developing apparatus, the usual and known techniques of applying a liquid to a surface are not routinely accomplished and require special consideration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the circumstance that liquid developer is applied at the rate of 1 or 2 grams per square meter of the twocomponent diazotype material, it is necessary that at the developing region the liquid is uniformly and evenly applied so that the azo-dye image which results is of a uniform dye density. It has been found that great stress is imposed on such apparatus applying the small amounts of developer liquid which must be uniformly spread over the entire image-bearing surface area.

Apparatus equipped with applicator rollers whose surface has been specially prepared to carry a controlled amount of liquid and operate in conjunction with a squeegee or wiping device to further monitor the amount of liquid, tends to generate high frictional forces at the developing stage. The high frictional stresses at the point of development impose a stress on the drive mechanism for the apparatus, which in turn causes erratic movement of the drive rollers. There is a perceptible variation in speed. Thus, the paper to be developed is advanced through the developer in the same erratic fashion causing image striations and irregularities in the copy due to irregular liquid application.

'It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved liquid developer composition for developing two-component diazotype materials which permits the application of very small quantities of said liquid to be spread uniformly and evenly over the surface of the diazotype material.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved liquid developer composition for developing twocomponent diazotype materials which tends to alleviate the stresses imposed on such developing equipment under the conditions of applying less than 3 grams of said developer liquid to the latent image bearing surface of the diazotype material.

It is a specific object of this invention to provide an improved developer liquid composition for developing two-component diazotype materials employing a concentrated solution of an aliphatic amine, and a carboxylic fatty acid increasing the lubricity of the system to greatly enhance the uniformity and evenness of application.

The objectives recited above are achieved by a new composition for developer liquids which comprise from 20% to by weight of an active alkaline component such as an aliphatic amine, a diluent comprised of a polyhydric alcohol, a glycol ether or a monofunctional alcohol; and a carboxylic fatty acid having from 16 to 18 carbon atoms in an amount ranging from 1% to 20% by weight.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following description sets forth the details of the developer which will achieve the objects set forth in the summary of the invention.

The alkaline component of the developer may be a compound having the general formula:

where R R and R are members selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkyl-aryl, alkylol, alkoxy, hydroxy-alkoxyalkyl and hydrogen, and

represents a heterocyclic ring such as morpholine and piperidine.

I The preferred amines useful in this invention are those wherein R and R are the same or different alkyl or hydroxyalkyl radicals or hydrogen, X is hydrogen, alkyl or hydroxyalkyl, and n is an integer from 2 to 4, inclusive.

-The alkaline component may be dilutedrwith a compound selected from the group consisting of a polyhydric alcohol, a glycol-ether, a monofunctional alcohol and wateror admixtures thereof. The diluent may be present in amounts ranging from 17% to 60% 'by weight of the formulation, the preferred range being from 30% to.50%.

- The following amines have been eminently successful in the ,practice of the methodzimonoethanolamine, isopropanolarnine, 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol, .triethanolamine, diethanolamine, 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol, N-methylethanolamine, dimethylethanolamine, hexylamine, cyclohexylamine. Other amines have demonstrated the ability to develop the diazo print such as beta hydroxyethyl trimethyl ammonium carbonate, N-aminoethylethanolamine, alkyl substituted morpholine and piperidine, but are somewhat less desirable because they have a detectable odor or they tend to adversely aifect the dye shade.

The use of a diluent aids in the spreadability and wetting out of the developer across the area to which it is applied. The diluent also finds utility as a material which can be used to adjust the viscosity of the developer liquid so that it can easily be pumped and caused to flow through various conduits to bring it to the developing region. In addition, if the diluent has a greater volatility than the aliphatic amine, it will tend to evaporate from the surface having a drying eifect on the thin layer.

The diluent may be comprised of a polyhydric alcohol selected from the following:

hexylene glycol diethylene glycol polyethylene glycol trimethylene glycol ethylene glycol propylene glycol 4 dipropylene glycol glycerine and glycol-ethers such as:

ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (Cellosolve) diethylene glycol monoethyl ether diethylene glycol monomethyl ether butyl Cellosolve or a monofunctional alcohol such as:

4-methoxy-4 methyl-pentanol-2 (pentoxyl) 2-ethyl hexanol cyclohexanol isooctyl alcohol hexanol It has been found advantageous to use the polyhydric alcohols which are completely compatible with the aliphatic amines and do not adversely affect the print quality. Also, polyhydric alcohols such as, for example, hexylene glycol and glycol ethers enhance the spreadability of the developer liquid. I

The advancement of this invention is represented by the addition of a third component such as a carboxylic fatty acid having a carbon chain length of from 16 to 18 carbon atoms such as, for example, one of the following:

stearic palmitic cis-9-octadecenoic acid cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid cis,cis,cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid in the range of from 1% to 20% by weight, the preferred "range being between 3% and 15%by weight. It will be appreciated that the amount of carboxylic fatty acid to be added to the developer formulation to minimize or substantially decrease the frictional forces in the developer system may depend in part on the concentration of organic amine that is employed. It has been found that at the higher concentrations it may be necessary to warm the developer above room temperature to keep the carb oxylic acid component in solution.

Thefollowing examples of developer solutions which may be employed in accordance with this invention are given for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention. It will be understood, however, that this invention is not limited to these illustrations and embodiments of developer solutions useful in practicing this invention. a I 1 It will be appreciated that the combination of an alkanolamine and a carboxylic fatty acid will produce the salt of the alkanolamine. For example, stearic acid will produce the stearate .salt of monoethanolamine. All percentages are shown as percent by weight unless otherwise specified.

Example I Percent Monoethanolamine 60 Hexylene glycol 20 Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 20 The ingredients were mixed together in a mixing vessel until a uniform solution resulted. The solution was charged into the developer trough of a developer unit such as disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 831,685 now U.S. Pat. 3,626,833, which is assigned to the same assignee as the instant invention.

Example 11 Percent Monoethanolamine 60 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 20 Diethylene glycol monoethylether 17 Stearic acid 3 Example III Percent 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol 40 Hexylene glycol 25 Diethylene glycol 10 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 10 Cis,cis-9,IZ-octadecadienoic acid 15 Example IV Percent Diglycol amine 50 Hexylene glycol 25 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 5 Cic,cis,cis-9,l2,lS-octadecatrienoic acid 20 Example V Percent Diethanolamine 40 Diethylene glycol 30 4-methoxy-4 methyl-pentanol-Z 20 Palmitic acid 10 Example VI Percent Morpholine 5 Monoethanolamine 10 Dimethylethanolamine 5 Pentoxol solvent 20 Cellosolve 20 Hexylene glycol 25 Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 15 Example VII Percent Monoethanolamine 50 N-methylethanolamine Triethanolamine 10 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 10 Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 20 Example VIII Percent Monoethanolamine 40 Ethylene glycol 30 Glycerine 10 Water 10 Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 10 Example IX Percent Monoethanolamine 40 Tetraethylene glycol 30 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 29 Cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid 1 Example X Percent Diethylenetriamine 50 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 25 Hexylene glycol 24 Stearic acid 1 Example XI Percent Hexylamine 50 Hexylene glycol 25 Diethylene glycol Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 10 Example XII Percent Cyclohexylamine 50 Diethylene glycol 25 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 10 Cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid 15 Example XIII Percent Triethanolamine 30 Monoethanolamine 5 Hexylene glycol 5 Diethylene glycol monomethylether 50 Cis-9-octadecenoic acid 10 In each of the above developer solutions, the inclusion of the carboxylic fatty acid contributed the necessary lubricity so that the developer apparatus employed resulted in the application of uniform liquid over the area to be developed in the range of from 0.5 to 3 grams per square meter without placing any undue stress on the drive mechanism. The movement of the copy sheet through the developer station was uniform and steady Without experiencing any halting or erratic movement as is experienced when using developer liquids without the carboxylic fatty acid producing striations and nonuniform azo-dye formation on the surface of the sheet.

What is claimed is:

1. A developer liquid for developing two-component diazotype material bearing latent images consisting essentially of from to 80% by weight of a liquid organic amine based on the total developer liquid, said amine being selected from morpholine, piperidine, alkyl morpholine, alkyl piperidine, and the amines of the general formula:

wherein R is alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkyl-aryl, alkylol, alkoxy or hydroxyalkoxyalkyl and R and R are alkyl, cycle alkyl, alkyl-aryl, alklol, alkoxy, hydroxyalkoxyalkyl or hydrogen, wherein R and R and R other than hydrogen are attached to nitrogen through a carbon-nitrogen covalent bond, a carboxylic fatty acid in the range of from 1% to 20% by weight, having a carbon chain length from 16 to 18 carbon atoms, and a polyhydric alcohol, a glycol ether or a monohydric alcohol containing at least 6 carbon atoms.

2. A developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carboxylic fatty acid is oleic acid.

3. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the glycol ether is diethylene glycol monomethylether and the carboxylic fatty acid is cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid.

4. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the amine has the general formula of wherein R and R are the same or different alkyl or bydroxy alkyl radicals or hydrogen, X is hydrogen, alkyl or hydroxy alkyl, and n is an integer from 2 to 4, inclusive.

5. The developer composition as defined by claim 4 wherein the amine is an alkanolamine.

6. A developer composition as claimed by claim 5 wherein the amine is monoethanolamine.

7. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carboxylic fatty acid is cis,cis,cis-9,12,15- octadecatrienoic acid.

8. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carboxylic fatty acid is stearic acid.

9. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carboxylic fatty acid is palmitic acid.

10. The developer composition as claimed in claim 1 wherein the amount of carboxylic fatty acid is in the range of from 3% to 15% by weight of the developer liquid.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,130,051 4/1964 Herrick et al. 96-49 2,772,972 12/1956 Herrick et al. 96-75 X 3,446,620 5/1969 Parker 96-49 2,807,545 9/1957 Frederick 96-75 3,202,510 8/ 19 65 Hollmann 96-49 2,969,015 1/ 1961 Klimkowski et al. 96-49 2,865,873 12/1958 Hodgins et al. 96-49 3,166,421 1/ 1965 Gramlich 96-49 3,284,201 11/1966 Meijs et al. 96-49 3,355,295 11/1967 Priest 96-49 3,578,452 5/1971 Parker 96-49 CHARLES L. BOWERS, 111., Primary Examiner 

